Grow food in your yard! 12 ideas for a bountiful and charming kitchen garden

1. A sackful of tomatoes

Bags with carrying handles are convenient for gardening in the yard because they’re easy to move. If needed, line the bag with plastic on the inside. You can harvest tomatoes from a sunny wall even without a greenhouse, as long as you make sure the variety is suited for open-ground cultivation.

2. The playhouse addition

This growing cabinet by a playhouse is in an allotment garden. The cabinet was built out of old windows. In a small greenhouse such as this, ensuring sufficient ventilation and watering is especially important. Short tomato varieties and basil thrive in the warm enclosure.

3. A blooming vegetable patch

Try sowing flowers in your vegetable patch to attract pollinators and possibly even divert pests away from your vegetables. The most traditional pest-repelling plant used in kitchen gardens is marigold. You can also flip the arrangement and grow the most beautiful edible plants in a flower bed. Leaf kale and palm kale, for example, look gorgeous among ornamental plants!

4. Colorful tiered growing

Strawberries have been planted in boxes to keep weeds at bay. You can plant different types of crops in this fun structure: those which need a thick layer of soil on top, and those that manage with less soil on the lower layers.

5. A delight to the eye

You don’t need to hide a beautiful vegetable garden at the far end of your yard, says the owner of this charming kitchen garden. The edging around the beds and the gravel paths complete the look. In the arch bent from steel mesh, sweet peas grow on one side and edible peas on the other.

6. A raised-bed garden on the pier

On this rugged island location the best spot for a raised-bed garden is on the pier. Tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, and basil thrive in the warm enclosures. The owner built the boxes from sturdy boards and fastened them firmly to the pier. There is an air gap between the bottom and the pier.

7. Built with bricks

Raised beds edged with bricks from an old baking oven fit right in with the prominent barn house. The inside of the brick frames is lined with plastic so the soil doesn’t spread onto the pathways, though you can also do this without plastic. A fun addition is the rusty wheelbarrow used as a planter, which looks like something a forgetful gardener left in the middle of the path.

8. One last favor

No more use for that worn-out rag rug indoors? Use it to smother weeds in your vegetable garden. It’s also more comfortable to sit on during yard chores than bare ground. Straw mulch is also excellent in a kitchen garden. These coverings help the soil retain moisture.

9. Built into a slope

You can establish a kitchen garden on a slope as well. This steep hill has been turned into a garden with stone retaining walls, terraces, and steps. The vegetable patch on the left is simply ingenious: four long rows of raised boxes stepped down the slope, with pathways in between for maintenance.

10. A hanging herb shelf

You can turn a used pallet into a practical herb shelf in just a couple of hours. Use pallets that haven’t been pressure-treated or treated with other chemicals. Hang your herb garden in a bright spot. Check out our instructions for building the shelf [in Finnish].

11. Put branches to good use

You can craft frames for your vegetable garden from branches that accumulate when pruning shrubs. If you’re growing pumpkins, you can first use the frame to compost garden waste. Pumpkins, which love nutrient-rich soil, have traditionally been grown on compost covered with straw. See other great ideas for using brushwood and branches in the garden.

12. Make use of height

Trellis arches are a lovely way to add height to a kitchen garden. You can also use them to separate your vegetable crops from the rest of the garden, if you like. Place arches in your beds on both sides, then plant beans of different colors. When climbing the arches, beans can be as showy as flowers.